North Carolina cops pulled over a driver showing “suspicious behavior” on Thursday, only to discover that the driver was a 12-year-old.
Officers from the Monroe Police Department stopped the SUV in Union County at 8.32 am after spotting that the car was sporting a “fictitious number plate.”
However, it was when they approached the now motionless vehicle that they realized the person behind the wheel was a mere 12-year-old. He told officers that he had missed his school bus and had decided to drive himself to class, the Monroe Police Department said in a press release.
The boy was heading towards Monroe Middle School, where the first bell is at 7.53 am, police told The Charlotte Observer. That meant he was nearly forty minutes late to class.
After pulling his vehicle over, police waited with him at the intersection of Seymour Street and North Charlotte Avenue while the school resource officer was contacted.
Eventually, the school official transported the unnamed boy to his school, where he was released to authorities.
“While this incident ended without injury, it serves as an important reminder to parents and guardians to secure vehicle keys and ensure children do not have access to vehicles without supervision,” the police department told The Charlotte Observer. “Allowing an unlicensed juvenile to operate a motor vehicle creates significant safety risks to the child and the public.”
However, in the press statement, authorities revealed that the Department of Social Services has been contacted. Now, the cops are working with the boy’s family to “ensure the juvenile’s safety and well-being.”
The North Carolina Department of Transportation says that drivers must be at least 15 years old to drive a car.
The state also has a graduated process for drivers aged between 15 and 17, which limits their driving privileges until they reach their eighteenth birthday.
The Independent has contacted the Monroe Police Department for further comment.
